It’s time to stop whatever you’re doing, set down that glass of Pinot Grigio and put that House of Cards binge-marathon on pause.
In the wake of numerous sexual assault allegations against famed film producer Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo and #WomenBoycottTwitter social media movements that followed, Broadway veteran Anthony Rapp came forward with similar allegations towards two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey. Rapp, 46, shared with Buzzfeed News that at just 14 years old, the American Beauty actor, who was 26 at the time, attempted to “seduce” him at a party in 1986.
“My head was spinning. I have a memory of turning around and [thinking], ‘What was that? What am I supposed to do with it? What does it mean?'”
The Rent actor came forward in the interview on Sunday night, where he stated that he was invited to a shindig at Spacey’s Manhattan apartment, where he was the only “non-adult” and “was quickly kind of bored” because he didn’t know anyone besides the host. Rapp then described that he moved to a bedroom to watch television and that as the traffic of the night began to die down, Spacey made his move on him.
Spacey, who Rapp designated was under the influence of alcohol, had “picked [him] up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold” and “[laid] on top of him.” Rapp vulnerably came out and shared how he felt in the moment, stating that his “head was spinning” and that he has a memory of turning around and thinking, “What was that? What am I supposed to do with it? What does it mean?”
Since Anthony Rapp’s allegations, Kevin Spacey took to Twitter, of all places, to make a public statement and to issue a less than mediocre apology:
— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) October 30, 2017
First of all, the way he says “if” he did commit to these actions is incredibly insensitive and implies that he does not believe in the words he’s saying. He then goes on to say that it was “deeply inappropriate drunken behavior,” with the impression that it is a valid excuse for attempting to seduce a minor. It does, however, increasingly get intense as he decided to take this statement as an opportunity to publicly come out as gay for the first time in his career.
Not only did he give a halfway-apology, but he also tried to cover up the problematic allegations with the fact that he’s gay. The general issue here is not that Spacey came out, that is fantastic on his part— it’s that he is utilizing the fact to stray away from his actions toward Rapp in 1986.